Conventional digital cameras are adapted to record image data of photographed freeze-frame pictures or moving pictures as a file in an external memory card. The image data recorded in the memory card can be deleted by a predetermined deleting manipulation.
The memory card used for compact data recording devices like digital cameras, etc. is limited in data capacity, so that the image data which is once given a deleting manipulation will be unrestorably deleted, whereby the memory card utilizes its memory capacity effectively.
In deleting the image data of the conventional digital cameras, the user performs a first manipulation for selecting and determining an image to be deleted and a second manipulation for permitting a delete confirmation given in accordance with the first manipulation, whereby the overlapping manipulations prevent an erroneous delete. However, with the conventional digital cameras, the user has to perform the overlapping manipulations for deleting the image data, thus entailing the problem of a cumbersome manipulation procedure.
On the other hand, a digital camera is proposed which is adapted to write to a recording medium a temporary delete flag indicating the selected image is specified as deleted temporarily in response to the selection of an image to be specified as deleted temporarily, and to actually delete the image to be specified as deleted temporarily when the recording medium lacks in its remaining capacity in photographing (JP-A 2002-51242). However, there arises the problem that the digital camera should adopt a new file management system with use of the temporary delete flag.